Piano-shipping case.



P. B. DAHL. 'PIANO s'mrrnw MSE.

APPLIOATIOI FILED APB. 22. 1907.

Patented J all. 26, 1909.

' a annu-annu 1.

I. B. DAHL. PIANO SHIPPING CASE. ArrLIoAjx'IoN FILED un. 22,1907.

Patented .133.726, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 A detail cross section taken on line 8 8 Fig. l. y

PETE l?. B. DAHL, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PIANO- SHlPPING @.ASE.

Specification o1' Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 26, 1909.

Application flied April 22, 1907. Serial No. 369,433.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l', PETE-n B. DAHL, a citizen of the United States,residing in Chicago, in the county of (look end State of Illinois, hoveinvented certain new and useful lmprovements in Piano-Shi ping Ceses, of

which the following is a ful clear, und exact description.

*My invention relates to certain new end useful improvements in pianoshipping ceses., and more particularly to. improvements in. cases ofthis class that may be knocked down for reshipment, that is to sayshipment beck to the owner of the cose, after the piano has been removedtherefrom..

The difficulty which has been encountered in knock down77 cesesheretofore, namely the production of a. cose Which would stand the roughusage to which they are frequently ut, hos been practically overcome, inmy 1m roved esse.

(gne of the objects of this invention is to produce c. case which iseesil assembled or teken spart, and Which Wien knocked down will occupyvery little space.

To such end this invention consists in certain novel features ofconstruction sind er rangement, a. description of which vrill be foundin the following speeiiicution and the essential features of which Willbe more definitely pointed out in the claims appended thereto.

The invention is clearly illustrated by means of 'drawings furnishedherewith, of which- Figure 1 is a. ers ective view of the complete coseassem le for shipment. Fig. 2 is a. detail cross section token on theline 2-2 Fig. .11. Fig. 3 is a. similar section token on line 3--3 Fig.11. Fig. 4 is a. similar section taken on line 'slm-4 Fig. 1. Fig. 5 isa. pers ective view of a. pivotconnection between t e sides and bottom.Fig. 6 is a perspective view of s srt of the case partially sssembled.Fi 7 1s a cross section of the cese in its knoc ed down condition. Fig.8 is s,

Fig. 9 is a. perspective view of a, pivot connection between the lowerfront piece and the bottom. Fig. 10 is s. similar view of e. frog-- mentof a. cleat. Fig. 11, is a vertical cross section of the case in itsassembled condition. Fig. 12, is a. rear view of a. portion of the case.

' Fig. 13 is a. detail vertical cross section teken on the `ne 13-13-Fig. 12. Fig. 14 is s dctail vertical section teken on the line 14R-14Fig. 12. Fig. 15 is a. detail horizontal section taken on the line 15-15Fig. 12. Fig. 16 is a. resr perspective view of a. ire ment the lowerfront section of the cese, sn Fig. 17 is s perspective view of a, pivotconm-orion the t is used between the various sections of the beck.

AS shown in these drawings, 20 represents the entire front of the case,30, the beck, 40, the sides, 50 the top and 60 the bottom. These variousparts are preferably composed of boards, nailed or screwed uponreinforcing strips. The front comprises top and bottom sections 21, 22,and the back comprises top, middle and bottom sections 31, 32, 33. Thebottom beck section 33, is rigidly secured to the bottom 60, and isreinforced by cleats upon its rear face. The bottom is made with e.reinforcin frame 61 upon its lower side to strengthen ghe saine.

'The bottom front section 22, is referobly mode in two pieces 22, 22",hinged together by means of hinges 23, and each piece is reinforced bycleats 220, 22d upon its front fece. The entire lower section22, ispivotally'snd removably connected to the bottom 60, by moons of suitableconnecting devices, each of which comprises a hook member 24 fast uponthe section 22h, (see Figs. 8 to 11) and loops 24 secured in the bottom60. The loops 24 are secured to the underside of the bottom by T hooks24", ond nuts 24. The l1 ook members 24, have right angle bends at theirends, one bend of which en ages the. loop 24a. The body portion of thelooks are confined in grooves 22, formed in the elects 22d and the up erbends of the books extend out through lio es in the cleats. This111echenisrn provides s simple connection between the Vfront and bottomand` which permit-s of the ready removal of the front from, or itsreplacement upon the bottom. The front edge of the bottom is notched toreceive the lower ends oi"4 the cleats 22 d, which extend down to theloops, 24a.

The upper front section 21, extends from the upper edge of the lowersection 22, to the top of the vcese and lies. at an angle to the lowersection, as is common in the ordinary pieno ship ing case. A number ofhooks 21 a are secure upon the section 21, which hooks project over andengage the side sections 40.

i The top section 50, 1s also provided with hooks ahthat enga. e theside sections 40. The hooks 21-50` 01d the side sections in place whenthe case is assembied, and should therefore be of strong and substantialconstruction. The back 30, is also cleated u on its rear face and thethree sections thereo are connected together by means of hooks and ttales 34, 35, (see Fig. 14, 17). Said hoo are bolted or otherwise securednear the upper edges of the sections 32-33, and the staples are securednear the lower edges of the sections 31-32 and are arranged to engagethe hooks 34. As shown the staples 35 are formed with right angle bends35 which are driven into the Wood, and said sta- 'ples are furthersecured thereto by means of olts and nuts 35h. Bolts 36 are provided uon the section.31,'to clamp the back to t e side sections and said boltscontain bifurcated strap portions 361 by which they are 'secured to theback. The side sections contain slots 41, to receive the bolts 36 andslot- :ted face lates 41, are secured to the outer ran ed to engageperforated straps 25,.upon

the oWer front section 22 when the case is folded for reshipment.

in place between the cleats 42, and the face ol' the side sections 40,and their upper bends lie in notches formed in said cleats 42.

The inner face of each side section is provided With strips 46, that arearranged in pairs to form grooves to receive the ends of the front, top,and back sections: The top A50, and upper front section 21 are slidablein the rooves, while the lower front section, and ack are confined inthe grooves against longitudinal movement. The top 50, has two-'cleats53, upon its under side which, enga e with the upper front section andback.

he case is assembled as follows1-Referring to Fig. 6, the base, whichcomprises the bottom and lower back section 33, is first laid down u onthe floor, and the loops 24,

ushed baci() into place and bolted down. 1hepiano may then be laced uponthe base, and screwed to the bacli section'. The middle and top backsections are then hooked upon the bottom back section. The lower frontis then put in place by hooking the hooks 24 into the loops 24a andbringing it into an upright position. It is to be understood that inorder to bring the hooks 24 into engagement with the loops 24, thelowersection 22h, must be first held at an angle to the bottom' so that thehooks may enter the loops. The sides may now be ut in place by hookingthem upon' .the sta les 45 and Swingin them up and against the front andbac ieces, the latter entering and becoming conned in the groovesbetween the strips 46. The sides and back are then clam' ed together bythe bolts and nuts 36, 362, t e top front piece 21, is slid down intoplace b tween the strips 46, after which the top piee 50 is slid intolace from front to back. The top is then )olted to the top back sectionby the bolt and `nut connection 51, 52 and the case is now ready forshipinent.

In taking the case a art for reshipment the reverse order of proce ureis followed, beginning With the loosenin f the bolt and nut connections51, 52. T 1e loops 24a are then drawn out to their fullest extent andthe va- Prious sections laid upon the bottom 60, the

bottom piece of the front section being hooked upon the loops 24 and thesection 22a laid down upon the intermediate sections and bolted downupon the bottom back section by means of the straps 25 and bolts 37.

This construction is very substantial, is easily assembled and readilytaken apart. lNhen packing a piano in an or(J inary case, an hours timeor more is taken to complete the work, but my case can be assembled ortaken apart in a very few minutes. The pivot connections between theparts bave been designed with a View of making a case which ispractically indestructible, from ordinary handling and usage and may beused from time to time until completely Worn out. These connectingdevices are preferably constructed of Wrought iron, and are secured tothe case in a very substantial manner, so as to guard against accidentalremoval while in use. Those which are embedded between the Walls and thereinforcing cleats are especially well secured in lace, as the entirecleat must first be torn o before the books can come loose.

l am aware that various alterations and modifications of thisconstruction are possible without de )arting from the spirit of thisinvention and L not desire therefore, io limit myself to the exactconstruction shown and described.

Iclaiin as newgand desire to secure by Letterslatent.

1. A piano shipping case comprising a base having the lower portion ofthe back rigidly attached thereto, a removable upper ac section,removable front section comprising an upper and a lower piece hingedtogether, removable back and top sections, side sections removablypivoted to the base, and arranged to be swung up against the front andbac sections, the top piece being slidably comectcd to the side sectionsand connecting devices, upon the upper backpiece and lower back piece, etop and the front section are constructed and arranged to lock the topsection to the back section whenthe scase 1s assembled and to lock saidfront section to the base when the ease isknocked down.

2. A knock down piano shipping case comprising a base, removable front,back, to and slde sections, constructed and arrange to be assembled uponsaid base, a pivotal connection between the front and base, com' risinghooks upon the front piece adjustable oops upon the base arran ed to beremovably connected to said hoo s and locking-devices between the topand back sections, said base being arranged to receive the back, top andside sections, when the case is knocked down, and Vsaid hooks,adjustable loops, and locking devices formingrthe sole means of securingall of the sections 'to the base when in a knocked down condition.

3. A knock down piano shipping case, comprisin a base having a portlonof the back rigi ly attached thereto, otherback sections removablysecured to said first named back section, front sections, the lower oneof which is approximately as wide as the lower back section, adjustablepivotal connecting devices between said lower front sec# tion and thebase, constructed and arranged to permit the front section to bedetached from the base, side sections removably pivoted upon the base,av to section, connections between the top an side sections and lockingmeans between the top and back section, said top, back and side sectionsbeing arranged to bel confined between the base and front section whenknocked down, and said ad'ustable pivotal'connecting devices and loc ingmeans forming the sole means for locking the case together when in .itsknocked down condition.

4. piano shipping case comprising a base, side sections removablypivoted thereto, guide grooves u on said side sections, back sections,seate in said grooves, and removably connected to the base, a frontsection seated in said rooves, and removably pivoted to said ase, saidside and front sections being pivoted to swing outward from theV body ofthe case, a top, slidable in said grooves, connecting means between thetop and sides and locking means between the to and back sectionsarranged to secure all ol the sections in place upon the base.

5. ln a knock down piano a hinge connection between` one of the othersections, comprising a* wrought iron loop bolted or otherwise secured tothe base, said loop being adjustable shipping case the base and ase toswing down and away ,when the case is knocket longitudinally of itselfand in the plane of the base, and a wrought iron hook, secured to saidother section and adapted to be hooked into said loop to connect theparts together or unlmoket therefrom to separate the parts.

6. In a knock down piano shipping case, a hin" connection between thebase and one o th'e other sections, com risingI the wrou ht iron loop,the T hoo engaging both egs of the loop and the nut adjustablyconnecting said loop to the base, the wrought iron hook. having rightangle bends upon both of its ,endsone bend of which is arranged to be.hooked upon the loop and the otherbend of which extends into thematerial of the section, said loop being adjustable in the plane of thebase, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a knock down piano shipping case lthe combination of a base,removable back sections, hook and loop connections between the sectionsof the back, removable front sections, removable side sections arrangedto be hooked upon the basefand swung u J against the front and backsections, bot connections between the back and side sections, guidegrooves upon said side sections for the other section that meet saidside sections, a top front section, and a top sectionY slidable in saidgrooves, hooks upon said top front and terp sections engaging the sidesections, and olt and nut connections between the top and back sectionsarranged' to secure all of the parts together.

8. n aiano shipping case the combination of a ase, side, back and topsections removably secured thereu on, and a two art front section-removab y hinged to the from thebody ofthe case,` the two parts of thefront sec-l tion' being hinged together to swing down upon the sides, to-and back sections when the case is knocke down. l

9. Inra piano shipping case the combination of a base, aving a ortion ofthe `back rigidly secured thereto, o side back and.top sectionsremovablysecured thereupon, and a two art front section removably hinged to thease to swing down and away from the body of the case, the two arts ofthe front section bein hinged toget 'er to swing down upon the sies, toand back sections down, and locking devices between. the front and lowerbac sections arranged to lock the parts in their knocked down condition.In witness whereof l have executed the abovel application for LettersPatent this 18th day of April, 1907.

PETER B. DAHL.

Vllitnesses:

CHARLES O. Snnnvm, `CLARAH Man'rnr.`

